tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651413709818481022.post4467806483322049093..comments2019-04-06T14:17:04.891+01:00Comments on Same Bat... Different Ball Game: WICL: Clarke Comes Out SwingingSydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14792368170002037565noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651413709818481022.post-36613809822270813212014-06-05T19:41:01.295+01:002014-06-05T19:41:01.295+01:00Perhaps the looming WICL had some influence over t...Perhaps the looming WICL had some influence over the decision to make a few of the players (18 I think) professional (in the sense of some guaranteed income - some quite small sums). In doing so they have a degree of control over them that would not apply if they were amateurs.<br /><br />It would be interesting to know WHY the ECB are against it. Two or three weeks in September doesn't really seem to threaten anything. Doubtless they won't tell us.<br /><br />The 'other' bloke in the picture looks remarkable like the bloke that went to prison - was it Stanford - for financial crimes. Ironic choice of photo if I'm right !The Clangerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04760786835721279059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1651413709818481022.post-49623933058021322762014-06-04T22:26:13.060+01:002014-06-04T22:26:13.060+01:00No surprise that Giles Clarke has taken this view ...No surprise that Giles Clarke has taken this view - he's very much one of the "old boys" - I'm sure the thought of women playing cricket at all - let alone getting paid for it - disgusts him. <br /><br />The ECB are only slightly more forward-thinking than the catholic church, which is exactly why they continue to choose captains that are all in the same mould - the likes of Gower, Atherton, Hussain, Vaughan, Strauss, and now Cook. Anyone who is not in that mould invariably does not last very long as captain (Butcher, Tres, Freddie, KP). <br /><br />They cannot handle change - this is why KP was forced out completely - he's a very different cricketer... He's almost the embodiment of T20 cricket - fast, exciting, radical, not afraid to make changes; whereas the others are the embodiment of test cricket - slow, soporific, conservative, allergic to any sort of change... <br /><br />If KP were England captain, I doubt he would have complained about the Mankad - he'd have said Buttler got what he deserved - that's assuming he didn't tell Buttler after the first warning to watch what he was doing.<br /><br />Nothing positive will happen in English cricket while stuffy old blazer-cladden buffoons like Giles Clarke are in charge.Nikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01769979672405810493noreply@blogger.com